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Airbnb owners spark anger in Aussie holiday town: 'Sick of it'

Noisy tourists renting out beachfront Airbnbs in Queensland have left some locals fuming and feeling as though they're paying the price.

One Rainbow Beach resident took an angry swipe at holiday rentals in her area — taking to Facebook to air her frustrations.

"Airbnbs and holiday rentals in residential neighbourhoods are the worst," she said.

"How dare you invite people into our neighbourhoods where our lives and our children are. You put so much disruption into these areas, take the money, and the people who live beside these places are the ones who pay!"

The woman added owners and managers should do more to make sure their guests aren't keeping the whole neighbourhood up until some ungodly hour "every bloody weekend" and occasionally during the week.

Rainbow Beach, Queensland, where Airbnb guests are frustrating locals
One Rainbow Beach resident is fed up with noisy tourists at Airbnbs. Source: Google Maps

Community divided on tourism issue

People in the comments were divided. Some thought holidaymakers weren't an issue in the area and others sided with the woman.

One person said Airbnb wasn't the problem, the people who rent the properties and then show no respect were the problem.

"I’m not sure it’s the owner's fault though. I think this is where communication with our neighbours is paramount," one person said in the comments.

"If I owned an Airbnb I would want to hear feedback from my neighbours so I could then leave the appropriate review for the person renting."

A few people suggested if the woman didn't like dealing with tourists then she shouldn't live in an area that attracts tourists.

“After having four businesses here over 30 years I wouldn’t like one now,” Tony Stewart said, according to the Courier Mail.

One resident believes locals are paying the price when Airbnb guests are in town. Source: Getty
One resident believes locals are paying the price when Airbnb guests are in town. Source: Getty

Mr Stewart is the former Rainbow Beach Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Secretary of Commerce and he said the problem is that while there is a neighbourhood police beat, the rural town is lacking an actual police station.

When the Rainbow Beach Neighbourhood Police Beat isn't manned, calls are diverted to a police station some 30km away — so residents don't bother calling for help when there's a noise problem.

“If there was a presence in town all the time, I’m sure people would behave themselves a lot better,” he said.

“I think there’s too many people here that know that there’s no police on duty all the time here.”

During the pandemic, Airbnb banned all parties at properties listed through the company. This year, the company made that policy permanent.

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